Series ✦ Penny’s Take
The Raven Scholar
Antonia Hodgson · 2025
87/100
👍 Worth It
One of the buzziest and most genuinely acclaimed fantasy novels of 2025, The Raven Scholar earns its praise through a rare combination: a murder mystery, a tournament arc, and an epic fantasy world that all feel freshly conceived rather than recycled. Neema Kraa — socially awkward, brilliant, utterly consumed by her scholarly work — is the kind of protagonist fantasy fiction rarely gives us, and the pacing and world-building are sharp enough to have broken into mainstream bestseller territory. Strong content warnings apply, but for adult fantasy readers this is a standout.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: murder and attempted assassination · torture · mass murder · drugging · consensual sexual content. We still scored it 87; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
📚 Buy the book ↗📱 Read on Kindle ↗🎧 Listen on Audible ↗ affiliate links · support the site, never the verdict
As an Amazon Associate and Audible affiliate, Penny earns from qualifying purchases. This never affects the verdict — see our affiliate disclosure.
Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety60
substance86
craft88
originality85
accuracy84
hype85
age-fit70
human-eye88
Penny’s verdict87
Cross-pollinate